


The Sea Bride

by adamantine



Category: Free!
Genre: (sort of), Alternate Universe - Splash Free, M/M, Merman Nanase Haruka, Prince Matsuoka Rin, warnings in summary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:20:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7030621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamantine/pseuds/adamantine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the SASO 2016 for the prompt "Remember when a grumpy mermaid got engaged to a desert prince?"</p><p><b>Warning</b> for human sacrifice by drowning and (temporary) character death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sea Bride

_I’m sorry, Gou._ He wouldn’t ask for forgiveness. It wouldn’t be right of him.

He was afraid. A part of him hadn’t expected his disguise to work. He was too tall, too broad-shouldered to be mistaken for his sister but the layers of shapeless fabric and the veil obscuring his face was enough for them to look the other way and pretend he was his sister, Princess Gou.

The head priestess said the words necessary for the sacrifice. Rin tuned her out. It was fitting really, that he was the one who was going to die for this blessing. It had been over a hundred years since a bride had been sacrificed to the sea. The people had been desperate to try anything to end the drought, even an obscure ritual that hadn’t been done in a century. Rin had carelessly agreed to the suggestion. What was one life if it ended the suffering of thousands? With his permission the names of every eligible maiden in the kingdom were entered in a lottery. There were hundreds of names, rich and poor, daughters of peasants and daughters of nobility alike. Not for one moment had Rin expected Gou’s name to be chosen. She was a _princess_. But of course that didn’t matter; he’d been foolish to think her status meant anything in a game of chance.

So Rin did what he had to do to save her. He added a sleeping drought to her morning tea and if his calculations were correct (and they usually were) she wasn’t going to wake up until later in the day. He then got on with the businesses of donning the elaborate bridal robes meant for Gou. No one said anything to him, no one commented that he wasn’t the right size to be Gou. He didn’t know if they knew it was him. Mostly likely they thought the royal family had bargained away the life of some peasant girl, arranging for Gou to live in some other kingdom far, far away where she would never be recognized. As if Gou would have been able to live with herself if he’d sacrificed some other girl for her. But if it was him that died she would have no choice. He’d left documents behind, naming her his heir. She would hate him, she would curse him, but she wouldn’t abandon their kingdom, no matter the depth of her grief.

It was time. He did not hesitate, even as his body began to tremble as he walked out into the sea. The wet robes weighed him down, like an anchor. He left the small crowd behind, left behind the priestesses who kept their heads bowed to him as he past. He kept walking and walking until there was no one, only himself and the sea as it went over his head. He kept going, fighting the urge to flee to the surface. He wouldn’t embarrass himself, wouldn’t force one of the priestesses to hold him down in the water, or worse expose himself and make Gou pays for his mistakes. _Gou._ She would kill him if she found out what he had done. He laughed. It might have been a laugh that only existed in his mind. He couldn’t tell anymore. He was delirious. His lungs were on fire. His body began to fight his mind. He wanted air. He wanted to live. He wanted—

* * *

The first thing he noticed was the pain. Every part of his body ached and throbbed. He was acutely aware of his lungs _existing_. He had never realized before what it meant to breathe. To inhale and exhale. To feel the air traveling through them. They hurt. The next thing he noticed was the heavy weight of wet clothing. He struggled to move, groaning as he tried to remember what it felt like to be alive.

“Did no one teach you how to swim?”

Rin struggled to open his eyes. The world was too bright. He blinked slowly, trying to get used to the light. He was on a beach. A man was staring at him. Despite his sharp tone his expression was worried. Rin blinked again. Where the man’s legs should have been was a fishtail.

“Are you a mermaid?” Rin slurred. He felt like he had not spoken in a long time.

“I’m half-man, half-fish. Don’t change the subject.” The man-fish glared at him.

“Huh?” Rin’s mind felt sluggish, like he was just waking up from a dream. “Oh. I know how to swim.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

“I was offering myself to be the bride of the sea.” The fishman stared at him blankly. Rin explained, briefly, the ritual he was a part of.

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Thanks. I’ll let the priestesses know their rituals are stupid.” In truth Rin agreed with his assessment but he didn’t appreciate a stranger insulting his religion.

“Since I’m the one that found you, does the mean you’re my bride now?” Blue eyes stared at him hopefully.

“What? No! I’m married to the sea. Plus,” he added, “I’m not really a bride. I’m a man. I switched places with my sister to save her.” He wasn’t entirely sure the fishman had noticed that detail yet.

“You can’t marry the sea. Are you an idiot?”

It was just Rin’s luck to be rescued by the most infuriating merma—half-man-fish, he corrected himself, in the world. “You can, and I did.”

“Well, I’m claiming you as part of the sea. You’re my bride now.”

“Listen here—”

“Haru,” he supplied helpfully.

“—Listen here, Haru. I’m not your bride. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Oh.” He deflated so quickly it caught Rin off guard. He had expected Haru to fight back (he seemed the type) but instead he seemed disappointed and—there was something else in his expression Rin recognized. Fear? Rin didn’t see any reason for Haru to be afraid, but he was.

“The ceremony was between me and the sea.” The words tumbled out of Rin before he could think through their consequences. “But you did save me. That must count for something. I’m just not your bride.”

Haru perked up. “So we’re engaged?”

“What?” That wasn’t what Rin meant at all and yet he found himself agreeing. “I guess. Yeah. We’re engaged.”

Haru’s fear subsided. He seemed pleased with these turn of events. “Okay.”

“Rin. I’m Rin, by the way. Thank you for rescuing me.” He flashed Haru his most dazzling smile.

“But I didn’t rescue you. I was too late. You died.”

The world spun. Rin’s smile disappeared. He was going to be sick. “What? That’s impossible.” Rin shook his head. “I’m not dead.” He couldn’t be dead. He didn’t want to be dead. If it was a ridiculous wish for someone who had just willingly sacrificed themselves, he didn’t care.

“You’re alive now. I traded my immortality to bring you back.”

Rin froze. He didn’t remember much about mermaid legends but he knew they were often linked with immortality. He understood now why Haru had been afraid. Going from immortal to mortal had made him feel vulnerable.

“Why?” he asked before he could stop himself. He bit his lip. He didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. He just wanted to know, to understand why Haru had given up an immortal life to save a stranger.

“I don’t know. Maybe I’m tired of being alone.” Haru looked away, embarrassed.

“Thank you,” Rin said softly. Haru met his gaze. His had the most beautiful, clear eyes Rin had ever seen. Rin’s heart pounded in his ears.

“So, where do you live?”

“Huh?” How long had he been staring at Haru?

“You can’t live underwater. I’ll have to live with you on the surface.” He said it in a way that made it sound like Rin had chosen to be born human just to spite him.

“But… it’s on land.” Was Haru expecting Rin carry him to the palace? Did he plan on living in a fish tank?

Haru stared at him like he’d said something stupid, instead of having pointed out an obvious problem. “I’m aware of that.” Before Rin could retort, there was a flash of light around Haru’s tail.

“Perfect timing,” Haru said.

Where his tail had been were a pair of legs. Naked legs.

Very, very naked legs.

Rin yelped.

* * *

Dying, it turned out, really exhausted a person. Rin fell asleep soon after he explained to Haru where the palace was. He slept until the next morning, waking up to find Haru watching him. He smiled at Haru and Haru smiled back. Rin was on fire. It was a different feeling than when he'd been drowning but it was no less terrifying or powerful.

The trip back took them a while. Rin didn’t want to travel by sea. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the sea—maybe if his death had been accidental he’d feel differently—he just wanted to take the long way home. With Haru. It gave them a chance to learn a little more about each other. Haru didn’t even know how old he was. He’d never had a reason to count the passage of time before. He listened to stories of Rin’s life with rapt attention. When Rin spoke of the drought he frowned. He couldn’t bring rain, he said, but he had the ability to purify water—even salt water. Rin had hugged him, overcome with emotion, at this revelation. Having a constant source of drinking water wasn’t just important for the people of his kingdom, it was important for their animals. So many farms animals had been slaughtered because their owners were no longer able to provide for them with drinking water. It wasn’t the miracle rains his sacrifice was supposed to trigger but it was _something_.

They arrived to the city unnoticed. The streets were deserted. The drought had taken its toll on the city in recent years, it was true, but this quietness was different. A strange veil seemed to hang over the streets, subduing everything. When he heard the temple bells ring he understood. The city was in mourning. Today was the day of his funeral.

“This way,” he said, leading Haru to the temple in the middle of the city.

The first guard that recognized him passed out. The second one began to mutter a prayer popular with sailors asking for the sea to have mercy on them. The third one trembled and let him through without a word. They were all afraid of him. It bothered him slightly, but not as much as it bothered him how he seemed to sense their fear as though it was a palpable thing. He wondered if this was a side effect of dying in terror. Perhaps he had experienced fear so intimately he would be able to sense it in others for the rest of his life.

Every head in the temple turned to look at him when he pushed open the temple doors. There was only one person he was interested in seeing. When Gou saw him she grabbed a candlestick—a heavy, ornamental thing—and just as he had predicted, she tried to kill him.

“How dare you!” She took a swing at him. He jumped out of the way just in time. “You drugged me!” Another swing. This time the candlestick made contact with his arm.

“Ouch.” That was going to bruise.

“I can’t believe you had the nerve to show up to your own funeral.” She swung at him again. He caught the candlestick before she really did end up killing him.

“I love you too, Gou.” He smiled at her, pulling the candlestick out of her hands. She began to cry.

“How could you? How could you leave me behind?” He hugged her as she cried into his chest. “I thought you were dead.”

“I was. It’s a long story. Haru saved me and now we’re engaged.”

“Huh? Who’s Haru?” She stopped crying. She’d made a mess of his robes, not that it mattered. They'd been ruined by sea water and travel already.

“A mer—half-man-fish. He should be right behind me.” He had asked Haru to wait a moment before following him into the temple.

Gou peaked behind him. “Oh my,” she said. She wasn’t the only person whose attention had shifted from Rin to the figure behind him. More than a few people cried out. A noblewoman fainted. Several parents covered the eyes of their children. A gray-haired granny raised her eyebrows approvingly.

Rin turned around slowly, praying his suspicions were wrong.

They weren’t.

Getting Haru to wear clothing had been a challenge. In the end Rin was only able to convince to wear the outer robe of his bridal ensemble. It wasn’t much but it got the job done _as long as Haru bothered to secure it_.

“Nice.” She was not looking at Haru’s face.

“Gou!” He was still holding the candlestick in one hand. He considered going after Haru with it. Or maybe he would just strangle him. And then himself. If he didn’t die of embarrassment first.

“What? I’m talking about his abs. They’re nicely sculpted.”

“Stop looking! Everyone stop looking!” he shouted pointlessly. At least his return from the dead wasn’t going to be the only thing people remembered about his funeral. He held back a grin and then went to shout at Haru, knowing full well Haru would just roll his eyes and mutter something about the silliness of humans.

Rin was glad to be alive.

**Author's Note:**

> Where are Rin's parents/grandma/etc..? Don't worry about it ok they're wherever you want them to be (AKA this was supposed to be a short fill lmao)


End file.
